Over the past few years, there’s been a lot of controversy about meat. Many scientists have now found evidence that it can be harmful to your health, and animal rights activists are concerned about how livestock is raised on industrial farms.
Do environmental and health concerns mean you should never eat meat again? In short, no. Here’s everything you need to know about how and why to be more mindful of your meat consumption.
How meat impacts your health
Meat products have a dense nutritional value of 25 to 30 percent protein after being cooked. Meat contains all the amino acids that are necessary for good nutrition, as well as several important vitamins like iron and B-12. Nutritionally, meat in its natural form is very healthy to eat.
Nonetheless, meat can cause health issues, depending on the quantity and quality of the meat you consume. For example, there’s a strong link between some red and processed meats and colorectal cancer. This is concerning, although more research is needed to study whether there are other contributing factors to this connection.
American meat is typically raised and processed in large industrial centres, and many of the livestock are fed with GMO grain products and injected with antibiotics and growth hormones. Eating this kind of meat can put you at risk for hormone disruption and other health problems.
Meat that’s raised this way is also higher in fat and lower in the nutrients that would normally make it healthy for your body. If you want to keep meat in your diet, it’s best to buy an organic brand that’s grass-fed and antibiotic and growth-hormone free.
In addition to the quality of meat, the quantity you eat matters. Most adults need five to six ounces (between 142 and 170 grams) of protein a day to function well. Depending on the type of meat you’re eating, recommended amounts range from around one-half to two ounces (14 to 57 grams) of protein from meat per day. The other four to five ounces (between 113 and 142 grams) should come from other food sources. However, most Americans get about 80 percent of their daily protein intake from meat.
Even if the meat you’re eating is very high-quality, filling your diet with this much meat means you’re missing out on the diversity of nutrients your body needs to thrive. For the healthiest nutritional balance, it’s important to moderate your meat intake and eat a wider variety of protein-rich foods.
How meat impacts your finances
Another interesting finding is that eating a meat-heavy diet can actually do a number on your financial health. For example, in December 2021, a pound of ground beef cost between $4.60 and $4.37 in America. Every year, the price of meat seems to go up.
One pound (0.45 kilograms) of beef has about 120 grams of protein, which is enough to meet the dietary needs of about two-and-a-half adults for one day. In comparison, a pound of dried beans costs around $1.50 USD and typically doubles in size when cooked. In only one cup of beans, you can get up to 30 percent of your daily protein requirement.
In terms of budget, this means that you can feed four people 30 percent of their daily protein requirement for $1.50, or you can feed two people complete protein for an average of $4.49 USD a day. If you add up the cost of meeting one person’s protein requirement for a whole week, that’s the difference between spending $2.63 for beans and $12.57 for meat.
Even reducing your meat intake to eating a serving once a day can have a positive impact on your budget.
Good alternatives to meat include lentils, chickpeas, mushrooms and nuts. Some foods can be used to create a meaty texture, while others contain similar nutrients. You can replace beef and chicken stock with tasty options like vegetable stock and certain forms of Japanese dashi. Most, if not all of these foods cost less than meat, and eating a wide variety will improve your health and your budget.
Although plant proteins are much cheaper than animal products, very few of them contain all the amino acids and vitamins you need to stay healthy. If you want to reduce your meat intake, it’s important to eat a varied diet to ensure you’re getting enough iron, vitamin B and essential amino acids.
Many vegans choose to eat tofu, tempeh and texturized vegetable protein (TVP) as meat substitutes, but you can also use these meat alternatives to support a diet that’s low in meat. Even reducing your meat intake to eating a serving once a day can have a positive impact on your budget.
How meat impacts the environment
Raising livestock on an industrial scale impacts the environment in several ways. For one thing, livestock eat a lot of food each day, averaging around 30 pounds of food per cow. Vast stretches of farmland are needed to grow enough feed for large herds, and this can contribute to the overdevelopment of natural land.
Unfortunately, crop fields are often treated with chemical pesticides and fertilizers to ensure a large harvest. These substances soak into the ground, enter the crops and run into nearby water systems, where they can pollute the environment with toxins and negatively impact wildlife.
We’re also starting to understand the impact that industrial agriculture is having on the global climate. Forests and other natural ecosystems serve as carbon sinks, trapping carbon dioxide in plant material and then storing it in the soil when plants decompose. Clearing these areas for livestock or crops means that more carbon dioxide is left in the atmosphere, thereby heating the planet.
Scientists also estimate that about a third of human-caused methane emissions come from raising livestock. This gas is created during the digestive process, and can also be released from livestock manure. In the larger spectrum of total greenhouse gas emissions, livestock accounts for 14 percent of the total human impact each year.
Some environmentalists argue that if farmers grew grain for people instead of livestock, they could easily feed the entire population of the Earth with the same amount of land. However, this argument leaves out important information, and suggests that farmers should never raise cows.
In some areas, the natural environment is actually better suited for raising livestock than growing crops. Cows and other animals are also able to subsist on natural products that humans can’t eat, with no harm to their health. Although environmentalists are right that food could be grown more efficiently, in some cases, raising livestock is the most ethical option.
Unfortunately, that’s assuming that the people raising the livestock will treat the animals well, which on most farms, is not the case. The horrors of factory farming and even mistreatment on many family-owned farms is well-documented, and serves as another reason why many people are now choosing to opt out of meat-eating or at least cut back.
Meat in the middle
On both sides of the discussion about meat, you’ll find people who care about their families, their futures and their livelihoods. There is some evidence that meat can negatively impact the environment, your finances and your health, but these issues are more complex than they might initially appear.
Whatever decision you make about eating meat, the most important thing is to eat it mindfully. With any meal, it’s worthwhile to think about what you’re consuming, where it came from and how much of it you really need. Practicing thoughtfulness will equip you to make healthy, ethical choices about everything you eat, from meat to beans.
Medical disclaimer: This page is for educational and informational purposes only and may not be construed as medical advice. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by physicians. Please refer to the full text of our medical disclaimer.
«RELATED READ» A WHOLE LOT OF CHOICE: How to adopt a flexitarian lifestyle»
image 1: Pixabay; image 2: freefoodphotos
